


Interruptions

by xxMad_Donaxx



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Kitty!Anders, M/M, Magical Accidents, Oral Sex, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2015-01-02
Packaged: 2018-02-22 02:10:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2490626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMad_Donaxx/pseuds/xxMad_Donaxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This follows my fic Socks, found here:<br/>http://archiveofourown.org/works/486496</p><p>Almost a month after being changed back into a human, Anders attempts to shape shift with unexpected results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to Shadowfire_RavenPheonix. Without your comments and suggestions this would have never have happened. Thanks a bunch! =D
> 
> Tags will likely evolve and I might add a series tag... if I can think of a decent title.

Anders read through the spell once more. He’d been studying the transformation spell for almost a month now and was finally ready to give it a try. Hawke was at the Hanged Man at the moment and he was excited to have a surprise for him when he returned home. Thankfully Cuddles had gone with him. She would be excited as well.

He stood in the upper section of the study and took a deep breath. Anders closed his eyes for a moment and reached for his magic, beginning the chant. Magic swirled around him. In the section below him the door slammed open. Startled, Anders darted behind a book case and listened as the spell abruptly cut off. The magic he had already called lingered for a moment then dissipated.

“Hawke!” Aveline called loudly from below. He could hear her clanking around for a minute or so before cursing.

“Guard Captain,” said Bodahn’s friendly voice. “Messere Hawke went to the Hanged Man to discuss something with his friend Varric.”

“Thank you Bodahn,” Aveline said in a rush.

Her clanking faded quickly and Anders heard the door shut below him. He sighed and leaned against the bookcase, feeling extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden. It felt like something had been stuffed down his small clothes and whatever it was actually hurt. Without much thought beyond getting rid of the pain he yanked at the laces of his trousers. Pushing them and his small clothes halfway down his thighs he sighed again followed quickly by an alarmed squawk as he realized what had been in his pants. The tail he’d grown in the last few minutes whipped back and forth in agitation.

“No,” he groaned twisting around to try and see his backside.

It was sleek and white like the cat he’d turned himself into with the Mirror of Transformation. He grabbed it and pulled, wincing when it actually hurt. Feeling around with his hands he discovered that it began at a small patch of fur that had grown at the very top of his arse in the middle of his body. The fur seemed to be a small star shape with the tail growing from the center.

Anders lifted his shirt and was glad to discover that he hadn’t grown fur all over. His fingernails hadn’t turned into claws either which was a bit of a relief. He pulled his small clothes and trousers up to just under his tail and scurried over to the spell book. Flipping back through pages Anders skimmed it looking for anything that might help. There was nothing about partial transformations and he groaned again.

“What do I do?” Anders said dropping into a chair. He squawked again and shifted so he wasn’t sitting on his tail. It came around him and he watched it settle across his knees, the end hanging down over the side of the chair and twitching in his irritation.

“I’ll try again,” he said after a moment.

He stood and closed his eyes. “Please work,” he muttered before taking a deep calming breath. He recited the chant and called on his magic. It came as it always had. Magic swirled around him like it had minutes earlier. There were no interruptions this time but nothing happened when he finished. He was still a man and he still had a cat tail.

“Why didn’t it work,” Anders said scrubbing his face with his hands.

Anders scrambled out of the study and up the stairs in the main foyer leaving two startled dwarves in his wake. He dashed into the bathing chamber and slammed the door behind him, skidding to a stop in front of the mirror. His face was slightly rounder, his cheek bones were a little more prominent and his eyes were a bit larger but still human looking, thank the Maker. On the side of his head where his ears had been all his life there was nothing but smooth skin and hair. On top of his head sat two perfect fuzzy triangles of white.

One swiveled at the footsteps he heard coming up the stairs. Seconds later there was a knock at the door and he heard Bodahn. “Are you all right Messere Anders?”

“Perfect,” Anders yelled back. He cleared his throat and tried to calm the tremble. “I’m fine Bodahn. Just… a little emergency.” He clamped his mouth shut against the near hysterical laughter that wanted to escape.

“Ah,” Bodahn said with a chuckle. “I’ll be just downstairs if you need something.”

“Thank you Bodahn,” he called back.

He listened to the dwarf’s heavy footsteps fade and sunk to his knees. “What am I going to do?” Anders moaned and touched the tip of one ear. “I can’t hide these. The spell didn’t work. It would have worked if Aveline hadn’t surprised me. Andraste’s flaming knickers.”

Anders scrubbed his face again and knelt on the floor trying to gather his scattered wits. His tail had wrapped neatly around the front of his knees and he watched the end move slowly up and down. Calm down and think Anders, he thought. He was fairly certain that Aveline’s loud and sudden interruption had caused this. Casting the whole spell hadn’t worked to change him completely one way or the other. Perhaps if he finished the spell from where he’d been stopped, that would finish the shift.

Pulling himself back to his feet he stood looking into the mirror at his ears for a moment before turning away to concentrate. He called his magic and thought the first part of the incantation, speaking softly when he’d gotten to the interrupted bit. There was a brief flash of light but ultimately nothing. Anders sighed dejectedly and turned back to the mirror.

“That mirror,” he said smiling suddenly. “I wonder if that mirror can fix this. Can’t go anywhere without hiding these though. I’ll be hauled away for certain.”

After a moment of thought he pulled the leather from his short tail and shook his head briefly. He spent a few minutes arranging the longer pieces of hair around the ears that he shouldn’t have had to hide the place where his ears should have been. It worked well enough but unless he could hide the cat ears not many would be looking for his normal ones.

He listened at the door of the bathing chamber and peeked out before slinking down the hallway to the room he shared with Hawke. There was nothing in his wardrobe that would hide the ears and nothing that would hide the entire length of the tail. Hawke wore mostly robes and he thought one or two of them had an attached hood. The first one he came across was white and he pulled it out.

The robes would probably be a bit loose on him but that didn’t matter as long as it hid the ears. A sigh of relief escaped after he’d pulled down his trousers. He hadn’t realized how irritated the bottom of the tail was getting rubbing up against his waistband. After a brief inner debate his small clothes joined his pants in the pile on the floor followed quickly by his shirt. Anders pulled the robes on over his head and worked his arms through the sleeves.

The hem hung a couple of inches from the floor and Anders twisted to see if his tail was visible. It was past the end of it and he buckled the belt around his waist. He twisted once more and felt around to see if the tail made it look funny. Grimacing he unbuckled the belt and dropped it back to the bed. Anders pulled the hood up and sat carefully on the bed to buckle up his boots.

One more stop in the bathing chamber to check his appearance revealed the hood looked odd but the ears weren’t visible. He frowned but headed back to the study to collect the spell book. At the top of the stairs that led to the foyer he hid in the shadows of Leandra’s doorway. Bodahn was nowhere to be seen and Sandal was sitting on the floor with various items strewn around him. Quietly he crept down and snuck into the study.

With the spell book hidden safely in a pocket he crept back to the doorway and listened. He could hear Sandal tapping on something but it seemed he was still alone and absorbed in his enchanting. Anders still crept close to the wall and down the hallway, hoping to avoid Orana as well, as he made his way to the cellar doorway. With that door safely shut behind him he hurried down and out to Darktown.

Keeping to the shadows Anders quickly made his way to the Black Emporium. The residents of Darktown scowled at or ignored him completely. He could feel the fur on his tail fluffing out the closer he got to his destination. This place still gave him the creeps and he hadn’t been back since the cat incident. Down the hallway he slunk, half crouched, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as well. The urchin stared blankly at him and the golem didn’t move.

“Welcome to the Black… back again?” Xenon drawled.

“I’d like to see that mirror again,” Anders said scowling at the glass encased corpse that refused to just properly die like it should have ages ago.

“As you wish,” he slowly replied. “I do not believe you will find it… useful however.”

He glanced at the golem and back to Xenon. Anders hoped he was wrong as he quietly walked across the room. The mirror stood exactly where he remembered. After a moment to gather his courage he stepped in front of it. He pulled the hood down and thought of how he should look. For several minutes he stood there and nothing changed. Frustrated he turned to the glass tube in the center of the room.

“Why isn’t it working?” he demanded.

“You have spelled yourself… correct?”

“I was attempting a shape shifting spell but got… interrupted. I didn’t want to end up like this.”

“Your magic caused it… your magic must fix it. The Mirror of Transformation does not… work on beings that have been magically altered already.”

“You could have told me that to start with,” he muttered irritably stalking for the doorway.

“You did not… ask.”

Anders yanked the hood up and hurried out.


	2. Chapter 2

Anders paced the length of the bedroom restlessly. He had no idea what to do about the ears or the tail and now he was wondering if they were the only things that had changed. His teeth seemed a tad sharper, his back itched and he seemed to be having some decidedly catty behavior. All he wanted at the moment was a nap. Without knowing when Hawke would be home surely a small one wouldn’t hurt.

He pulled up the skirts and sat carefully on the bed. His boots were unbuckled and sat under the bed. Anders unbuttoned the top of the heavy robes and shrugged out of them, leaving the skirts on. He crawled up to the head of the bed and curled up as tight as he could on his side. It didn’t take but a few minutes to fall asleep.

Sometime later he woke to the noise of some sort of fuss going on downstairs. Anders yawned and stretched wondering what was happening. He sat up, yelped because he’d sat on his tail again, and groaned because the problem hadn’t fixed itself while he slept. Frowning as he stood, Anders was trying to work one arm back into the sleeve of the robes when Hawke burst into the room.

His first impulse was to find a tight spot to hide in. Horror followed immediately at the thought of actually finding a tight spot and squeezing into it on purpose. Embarrassment overwhelmed the first two as Hawke stood there wide eyed and staring.

“Anders we need to… oh… goodness,” Hawke began in a rush. The last was spoken in a small astonished tone.

“Umm… hello love,” Anders said sheepishly. “I uhh… have a small problem.”

“Problem,” he said absently stepping forward.

Hawke reached out and touched the tip of one ear. His ear twitched and his tail lashed from side to side underneath the skirt.

“Real,” said Hawke flatly. He walked around and gasped. “You have fur on your back! Anders… what happened?”

“Really?” Anders said dejectedly trying to reach his back. He was positive there had only been a little bit where his tail sprouted. “It wasn’t there before!”

“What happened?” Hawke asked again.

Anders didn’t answer. He felt Hawke running a hand down his back, from the base of his neck all the way down the middle, stopping when he reached the top of the skirts. It felt very nice.

“That’s… distracting,” Anders said trying to hold still and not arch into his touch.

“Why are you wearing my robes?” Hawke said absently. Anders finished getting his arms into the sleeves as Hawke pulled up the back of the skirts. “A tail. Dear Maker. Anders…”

“Can we close the door at least?” he said taking a few shuffling steps towards it.

“Oh dear,” said Hawke circling back around him. “We don’t have much time but you can’t go out like this.”

“You want me to come with you,” Anders groaned. “Love, can’t you ask one of the others?”

“I need your healing. There’s no one…”

Cuddles appeared in the doorway and barked.

“Yes I know Cuddles,” Hawke said still circling Anders. “We’re in a terrible hurry but Anders is having a small crisis too.”

She turned and cocked her head to the side. Cuddles whined and took a hesitant step forward. Anders sighed as he finished buttoning the robes, Hawke behind him again. He knelt and waved the big mabari forward. She crossed the distance in a few steps, nose snuffling at the unfamiliar ears on top of his head.

“Cuddles,” said Anders irritably pushing her muzzle away slightly. “I don’t stick my nose in your ears.” She whined again and he rubbed her shoulder, feeling fingers in his hair at the base of the cat ears. “Ah…distracting!”

“Sorry love,” said Hawke apologetically. “I’m just trying to figure this out.”

“I know,” he sighed. He grabbed his boots from under the bed and sat carefully at the edge. “I’m going to need your help to fix this but you said you needed my healing?”

“Yes,” said Hawke. “I’m not going to ask you to risk yourself like this however. I’ll just have to see what I can do for the refugees.”

“I’m going with you,” said Anders firmly as he pulled on one boot.

“Are you sure, love?” Hawke asked worriedly. “There’s no telling what people will think or do.”

“Yes I’m sure,” he said buckling up the other boot. “Cuddles can stay with me to deter curiosity. You know I can’t leave my patients. Especially not after the last few months. Has there been another collapse?”

“It’s fairly deep into the tunnels,” said Hawke as Anders stood.

“Let me get my staff,” Anders said pulling up the hood.

Hawke nodded as he stepped away, wringing his hands and peering into it. “I’m not sure the hood will work though. Your eyes are… sort of glowing. Let me see if Mother has a hat that you can borrow.”

Anders groaned as Hawke hurried out. He followed but turned at the bathing chamber pulling the hood off. He peered at his reflection, leaning closer to get a better look at his eyes. They were as large as they had been but either he hadn’t noticed before or the partial transformation was still happening. Instead of round pupils they were slightly elongated vertically. His eyes looked odd but hopefully people wouldn’t notice. He bared his teeth, snarling at himself in the mirror. As he’d thought earlier, it looked as if all of them had begun coming to a point. Anders sighed and stood upright leaning heavily on the basin.

Cuddles had followed him into the bathing chamber and was standing next to him still sniffing. She looked up at him and whined. Anders sighed again and patted her head. They both looked to the door when Hawke hurried in carrying something purple and feathery.

“Please tell me how this happened,” he said worriedly.

“I was attempting to cast the shape shifting spell,” Anders said as Hawke turned the hat over. “Aveline burst into the study and startled me. After she’d gone…”

“Dear Maker,” said Hawke frowning. He carefully positioned the hat over his ears and gently settled it on top of his head. “Well, it hides the ears.”

“It looks ridiculous,” said Anders after staring at his reflection. “And it’s a little uncomfortable.”

The tips of his ears were folded down against the top of the hat. The brim extended a couple of inches all the way around and a flimsy feather sat on the right side, drooping listlessly. Cuddles huffed and sat, looking almost indignant. She nudged Hawke’s leg with her muzzle and he patted her head with a frown.

“I know it looks terrible,” he said apologetically. “But…”

“They’ll be too busy laughing at me to wonder why I’m wearing it,” said Anders reproachfully.

“I’m sorry love but your eyes aren’t glowing now. Are you sure you want to come with? You could stay here and… hide.”

“Let’s go,” Anders said gesturing at the door. “I’ve been laughed at before.”

Hawke nodded and turned to the door reluctantly after another lingering look. Cuddles loped ahead and Anders followed, pausing to grab his staff from the bedroom. They were hurrying through Darktown before Hawke spoke again.

“How long ago did this happen?” he asked.

“Mid-morning I guess,” Anders replied glancing at him.

“I don’t suppose you thought to see if the Mirror of Transformation would fix it?” Hawke asked a little hopefully.

“It didn’t work,” said Anders glumly. “Xenon said I’d have to fix it myself. The mirror doesn’t work on magically altered people.”

“Drat,” he said his face falling. “We’ll see to the collapse victims and go straight home. I’ll look over the book again.”

“It’s in the bedroom. I couldn’t find anything about partial transformations though.”

“I’m sure between the two of us we can figure out what happened and fix it,” Hawke said reassuringly. “Until then… we’ll just have to stay home a lot.”

Anders nodded and held in a sigh.


	3. Chapter 3

What could have taken several hours only took the two of them a little over three. Anders was thoroughly annoyed with the hat and the robes. Every time he knelt down his tail came up, pushing against the heavy robes without much success. He was also fairly certain there was more fur growing on his back. Not only did he have the maddening itch across his shoulder blades he was becoming hot.

Cuddles had stayed with him the entire time but not many of the refugees actually mentioned his odd attire. There were looks and a few giggles hidden behind hands but most were too concerned with their loved ones. After starting back to the estate Anders yanked the hat off in a deserted corridor and shook his head vigorously.

“I hate this,” he muttered irritably. “Garrett, scratch my back please.”

“We should be home soon,” Hawke said soothingly.

“If we can’t figure this out soon I’m going to need a lighter set of robes,” said Anders after a tiny sigh of relief. He arched his back into the scratching. “A little higher… there.”

“What about that silk affair in your trunk under the bed?” he asked. “It should be much cooler than these wool robes.”

“We’d have to cut a hole for my tail. I put the robes on to hide the thing.”

“If we’re just in the house it shouldn’t be a problem for a little while. Mother is out for the weekend and we can give the dwarves some time off. Orana… she might not even mention it. Feel better?”

“My back itches less,” said Anders with a shrug. “I don’t want to put the hat back on though.”

“We should be home soon,” Hawke said gently taking the hat from him. It was carefully placed back on his head and Anders scowled. “I’m sorry, love. How about a tummy rub when we get there.”

“Promise,” said Anders hopefully.

“I promise,” said Hawke with a small smile.

Anders nodded and they started through the tunnels once more. They had almost reached the cellar entrance when Isabela appeared from the shadows in front of them. Her eyes were wide and locked onto him. He looked down and turned away slightly as Hawke took a step forward.

“Isabela,” Hawke said. “What brings you down here?”

“Looking for you,” she said stepping around him and slouched to see under the hat. “Anders?”

“Hello Isabela,” Anders mumbled.

Isabela uttered a short burst of giggles. She reached for the hat brim and said “What are you wearing this for?”

“I used to wear robes all the time,” said Anders backing out of her reach.

“I’ve seen you in robes remember? Back when you were a lot more fun.” Isabela said. “I’ve never seen you wearing such a silly hat though.”

“Isabela,” Hawke said. “I’m terribly sorry but we have to get home.”

“You’re only making me curious you know,” said Isabela smirking.

Anders folded his arms across his chest, feeling his tail fluffing out again and the fur on his back trying to stand on end. He glared and she smirked. Hawke moved between them and said firmly, “I’m sorry Isabela but we really need to get home.”

“Aveline has been looking for you all day,” she said casually. “And we were supposed to meet Varric in Hightown.”

“Dear Maker I’d forgotten completely,” groaned Hawke. He turned to face Anders and continued apologetically. “He’s found Bartrand. Why don’t you go home and… get comfortable. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What am I supposed to do?” said Anders. “We need to deal with… this… before it gets any worse.”

“I know love but I promised Varric,” Hawke said cupping his cheeks. “We’ll go up through the cellars and I’ll give you a good tummy rub before I go.”

Anders sighed and nodded reluctantly. Hawke smiled and took one of his hands as he turned back to Isabela. There was a calculating look before it was quickly replaced with her customary smirk. He frowned at her and harrumphed. Anders ignored her completely all the way back to the estate. She remained in the foyer while Hawke led him back upstairs to their room.

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” Hawke said after the door was shut behind them.

He flung the hat to the floor and shook his head again. Anders felt Hawke behind him, an arm around his waist with the other rubbing circles on his stomach. It felt as wonderful as he remembered and relaxed into the embrace. His cheek was kissed and moments later he heard it, a very familiar rumbling sound.

“Goodness,” Hawke said in concern. “Anders you’re actually purring! I’ll be as quick as I can.”

The sound abruptly ceased and Anders groaned. “If this doesn’t stop I’ll be the largest house cat ever. Please hurry Garrett.”

“I will. Get comfortable and read through the spell book again carefully.”

There was a kiss to his cheek and Hawke was gone along with Isabela and Cuddles. Anders closed the bedroom door and yanked off the robes. He spared a moment to stretch, his tail lashing back and forth. After taking his boots off, he knelt and dragged his trunk out from underneath the bed. It took less than half an hour for him to get a slit cut for his tail and hem the edges so they wouldn’t fray. The sandals that went with the Tevinter styled robes were set by the door and the trunk pushed back. He felt much cooler but feared some of the fur on his back might be visible.

Since there wasn’t much he could do about it one way or another, Anders dressed and settled on the bed with the spell book. Lying on his stomach he began reading through it carefully. After a while he just couldn’t keep his eyes open and fell asleep sprawled on the comforter. The sound of the door woke him sometime later and he stretched lazily as Hawke shuffled in.

“I have good news and bad news,” Hawke said evenly sitting at the edge.

“Bad news,” Anders said through a yawn as he scooted around to rest his head on Hawke’s lap.

“We have to go to the Hanged Man.”

“Why?”

“Varric needs our support. Bartrand was… not well. The idol drove him mad. He’s being taken to a sanitarium as we speak.”

“The good news?” said Anders as he sat up, managing to avoid sitting on his tail this time.

“Not everyone will be there,” Hawke replied. “You look very nice.”

“Small comfort,” he muttered. Anders stood and took a step away. “Can you see anything?”

“Besides your tail,” Hawke replied. “I can’t see any of the fur. How much has it spread?”

“I can’t tell. How are we going to hide my tail?”

“I think I have a light cloak that will work nicely.” Hawke crossed the room to his wardrobe and rummaged through it. He turned back around with a crimson length of cloth and Anders sighed. “You’ll have to watch that though.”

Anders looked down and found his tail had wrapped around to the front of his legs and sighed again. “This is going to be difficult. I’m also still going to look ridiculous. Green robes, a red cloak and a purple hat.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Hawke said apologetically. He wrapped his arms around Anders and kissed him lightly. “If it helps any, you really do look adorable.”

He chuckled and rested his head on Hawke’s shoulder. “Thank you love.”

“Did you find anything in the spell book?”

“No… I… fell asleep.”

“I’m a little worried Anders. You’re acting like a cat too.”

“I know,” said Anders nuzzling into his neck. “Can we have fish for supper tomorrow?”

“I’ll tell Orana,” said Hawke with a little sigh. “Let’s go. I left Cuddles with Varric and Isabela. Merrill should be back by now as well.”


	4. Chapter 4

Anders was extremely self-conscious of his mismatched outfit as he walked through the common room behind Hawke. He kept his head high however and ignored the stares and snickers. Up the stairs to Varric’s suite he went, where the snickers were replaced with momentary silence. Three sets of eyes were glued to him, all wide and staring. Isabela burst into gales of laughter and he glared at her.

“Blondie?” Varric said incredulously.

“Hello Varric,” he said coolly.

“That’s… not any… better,” Isabela managed between hoots.

“Isabela,” Hawke said reproachfully as he sat.

“It’s… colorful,” Merrill said staring wide eyed at him.

Anders huffed and walked calmly to his usual seat, scratching Cuddles’ head on the way by her post near the door. He pulled up the cloak a little and sat with his tail alongside his right thigh, next to Hawke and facing the door. Anders made sure the cloak covered it.

“Garrett has told me about Bartrand,” said Anders turning to Varric and ignoring Isabela completely once more. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I doubt it,” he sighed. Varric took a long pull from the tankard in front of him, set it back on the table and looked at him contemplatively. “You know Blondie; I don’t think this look is any better.”

“Could we not discuss my clothing?” Anders said irritably. “It’s bad enough you make fun of my coat.”

“Oh but I like your coat,” Merrill said cheerfully. “The fluffy feathers remind me of hatchlings.”

“Fluffy,” Isabela snorted. “Bedraggled maybe. That poor thing though.”

She leaned across the table and reached for the hat once more. Anders pushed his chair back slightly and batted her hand away.

“Yes, I look ridiculous,” Anders snarled through clenched teeth. “No, I’m not telling you why. Can we move on please?”

“Go get us something to drink Isabela,” Hawke said quickly.

He slid a couple of sovereigns across the table. Isabela shrugged and pocketed them as she stood, sauntering nonchalantly to the common room. Hawke steered the conversation in a different direction and despite his slightly sour mood, Anders joined in. Eventually the cards were dug out and the evening proceeded like many before it. He couldn’t completely forget the situation he was in. The hat simply wouldn’t allow it.

It was very surprising after an hour or so when she lunged across the table and batted the hat off. There were gasps from Merrill and Varric. The cards he’d been shuffling were scattered over the table and they both stared, struck speechless. Isabela sat back down with a smug smirk.

“Oh dear,” Hawke muttered as he shot to his feet. He hurried over and shut the door. “Isabela, what was that for?”

“He never wears hats,” she said. “I wanted to know what you were hiding.”

“You don’t look very surprised,” said Anders scowling at her.

“Merrill…” Hawke said quickly moments before he felt fingers in his hair.

“Stop that!” Anders exclaimed jerking away from her. He shot to his feet and backed away from the table, his ears twitching and his tail lashing.

“Are they real?” Merrill asked stepping forward.

Anders hissed at her, crouching while his tail straightened and fluffed out. Merrill backed away looking surprised and Hawke was suddenly between them.

“Calm down, love,” Hawke said soothingly.

He stroked Anders’ cheek with one hand, the other moving around his body under the cloak. Anders nuzzled into his hand despite how irritated he was. Hawke murmured calming things scratched his back lightly and stroked his cheek.

“All right?” said Hawke softly after a minute.

He nodded and took a deep breath. Hawke turned to stand beside him and he found Merrill standing near with her hands clasped together looking slightly worried. Isabela hadn’t moved from her seat but she was now grinning broadly. Varric was gathering the scattered cards and Cuddles watched everything from her post by the door.

“Yes they’re real,” Anders said looking back to Merrill.

“I’m sorry,” Merrill replied earnestly. “I should have asked.”

Anders nodded and turned a scowl on Isabela. “Why did you do that?”

“I saw the tail the last time I came back from the bar,” she replied still grinning. “And I really wanted to know what was under that hat.”

“That was very rude,” Hawke said sternly.

“Come on Hawke,” Varric said flipping the cards all the same way around. “You know us better than that. So how did it happen?”

“Aveline startled me this morning when I was casting the spell that would turn me into a cat,” Anders said taking off the cloak. “I looked like this when she left and we don’t know how to fix it.”

“Perhaps the Keeper knows something,” Merrill suggested sitting back down. “She didn’t know the spell but she knew of the spell.”

“Thank you Merrill,” Hawke said. “We’ll keep that in mind. I’d like to see if we can figure something out first.”

“Shall we continue?” Varric asked calmly.

Anders scooted his chair a little closer to Hawke and sat, draping the cloak over his lap. Four rounds of Diamondback later Varric still seemed indifferent while Merrill and Isabela kept glancing at his ears. While it did make him uncomfortable the feeling was manageable. At least they hadn’t tried to touch them again. He was beginning to relax when the door burst open. Aveline came through and her gaze landed on Hawke before skating over everyone else to Varric.

“Why is the door shut?” she asked tersely. Varric merely pointed and Aveline frowned at Anders for a moment before turning to Hawke. “Where have you been all day?”

“Aveline,” Hawke said as she hauled him out of the room.

Cuddles nosed the door shut with a huff and sat back down beside it. Anders glared at the door, the end of his tail flicking rapidly.

“Your bid Blondie,” Varric said evenly.

Anders looked at his miserable hand and threw the cards face down on the table. The hand went on and he continued to glare at the door. He wouldn’t be in this mess if Aveline hadn’t startled him this morning. He was torn between yelling and ignoring her completely. When they didn’t return immediately, Anders stood and jammed the hat on his head.

“I think I’ll be going now,” he said still staring at the closed door while he settled the cloak around his shoulders.

“Still a little peeved?” Isabela said in amusement.

He gave her a scathing look before turning to Varric. “I’ll see you later Varric. If you want I could see if there’s anything I can do for your brother.”

“Bartrand isn’t going anywhere,” Varric sighed. He smiled after a moment and waved. “I think you need to concentrate on your own little problem.”

Anders smiled tightly and nodded at Merrill, glared at Isabela and opened the door. Cuddles barked a few times before following him out. Hawke and Aveline were down the corridor but Anders only glanced before going down to the common room. He heard Cuddles bark a few more times before following him out of the tavern. He was halfway up the stairs to Hightown before Hawke caught up to him.

Silence persisted all the way back to the estate. Anders stalked straight up to their room while Hawke stayed to speak with Cuddles in the foyer. With the door shut firmly behind him he flung the hat to the floor and dropped the cloak on top of it. He slipped out of the sandals and began the process of taking off the complicated set of robes.

“Are you mad at me?” Hawke asked quietly shutting the door.

“No,” Anders replied sullenly. “I didn’t want to incinerate Aveline. Cats can be pretty vindictive sometimes.”

“She apologized,” said Hawke coming up behind him. “After she quizzed me about that incident on the Wounded Coast.”

“I still have to deal with it don’t I,” said Anders. “She’s not the one hiding fur, a tail and the wrong set of ears behind a garish outfit.”

“Come to bed, love,” Hawke said softly.

He felt fingers running through his hair, scratching behind his ears. Anders hummed and couldn’t help a smile as he let the robes fall.


	5. Chapter 5

Anders hummed happily as he let the robes slide off his shoulders.

“Goodness,” Hawke said anxiously. “It’s spread quite a bit.”

He felt Hawke stroking down from the base of his neck, swerving over a little to his shoulder blades and down to where his robes were caught on his tail. Anders arched into his hand, pulling his tail out of the robes with his help. They dropped to the floor and he stood there completely naked.

“Garrett,” he said softly as he turned. “We can fix this… right?”

“I’m sure we can,” replied Hawke confidently.

Their lips met in a brief kiss and Anders hummed happily again when he felt light scratching under his chin. He tried to work the buttons on Hawke’s robe but ended up with a wad of cloth in each fist as conscious thought deserted him. Anders stretched his neck out for the fingers there and let his eyes drift shut at the wonderful slide of Hawke’s hand on his stomach.

“You are so responsive,” Hawke murmured.

Anders couldn’t tell if he was more amused or intrigued. If he wasn’t having trouble concentrating he might have remarked on either. As it was between the light scratching on his chin and the rubbing on his belly, he’d begun purring again.

“Oh my,” said Hawke softly.

The hand at this chin stroked down his chest and around to his back. Anders mewled and pulled him closer, nuzzling into his neck.

“Love,” Hawke said gripping him by the shoulders and pushing him away gently.

“Garrett,” he pouted.

“Give me a moment to get ready for bed,” said Hawke gently. “Lay down and I’ll scratch and rub for as long as you like.”

Anders grinned excitedly and crawled onto the bed. He settled on his side listening to Hawke disrobe and pull his sleep pants on. When he felt the mattress dip behind him he rolled to his back and squirmed until he was comfortable.

“Rub my tummy,” Anders said eagerly. “I was really looking forward to it…”

Hawke smiled as he leaned over to kiss his cheek. Anders let his eyes drift mostly shut when the wonderful feel of his hand sliding over his stomach began again. He began purring when Hawke added ear and chin scratches. Soon enough he was sleeping soundly. Light through the curtains was dim when he woke curled up tightly and snuggled up against Hawke.

He yawned and stretched lazily, noting with some dismay that he still had a tail. Anders wondered if the fur on his back had advanced further and was considering getting up to find a mirror when Hawke rolling to his side thoroughly distracted him. There was an unmistakable hardness on his backside but his lover was still asleep. Anders ran his tongue along his teeth and found they didn’t seem any sharper than they had the previous day.

Suddenly very aroused, Anders rolled carefully and pushed the blanket away. He turned and lay on his side. His head was positioned perfectly and he gingerly extracted his lover’s thick stiff cock from the layers of cloth covering it. Hawke sighed in his sleep, a hand coming to rest on Anders’ hip. Hoping that his tongue hadn’t become rough, Anders licked the head a few times and listened carefully. Sensing no distress from his sleeping lover, he happily took Hawke’s cock into his mouth. It didn’t take very long for Hawke to wake, humming contentedly and rocking slightly into Anders’ mouth.

“Good morning, love,” Hawke murmured.

Anders squeezed his hip and sunk further on his prick, his tail draping over Hawke’s side. Fingers were curled around his own hardening length now and he hummed happily. He pushed on Hawke’s hip and they rolled seamlessly, Hawke now on his back with Anders on his hands and knees over him. Now there were lips around the head of his cock and Anders hummed happily.

For long minutes there was nothing but Hawke’s tongue against his prick and Hawke’s cock down his throat. Anders could hear his lover’s heavy breathing and the small whimpering noises he always made before he came. He sunk down until his nose was pressed to Hawke’s balls and swallowed around the intrusion in his throat. Hawke gasped and Anders pulled back so that he wouldn’t choke.

When he’d fully spent himself Hawke sighed happily as Anders rose up and off, swallowing his seed. His tail moved slowly back and forth in anticipation. Anders let his upper half sink down when his cock was enveloped once more. With his cheek on Hawke’s thigh, his hands fisted in the sheets, Anders began rolling his hips. He mewled and panted his eyes only tiny slits as Hawke’s tongue ran along his cock. Anders came with a jerk and a shudder, mewling with his tail standing straight up. He sighed and flopped his lower half to the bed, nuzzling against Hawke’s thigh after a moment.

“You’ve grown more fur during the night,” Hawke said worriedly after a brief amount of time spent catching their breath. “It’s all over your back now.”

“I don’t want to think about that,” Anders said petulantly. “Can’t we ignore it for a while?”

“It’s difficult for me to ignore this love.”

He rolled to his other side and sighed. “I have to wear a stupid hat to go out anywhere. I don’t even want to put on my robes because I’ll just grow more fur and it’ll itch. I want to curl up somewhere warm and take a nap.”

“That’s why we need to figure out what’s wrong,” Hawke said gently.

The mattress dipped behind him and he felt a hand stroking down the fur that covered his back. “Stop that,” Anders said trying his best to ignore it.

“Love…”

Anders rolled away from him again, stopping at the very edge of the bed on his stomach. He turned his head to the side frowning at Hawke. The end of his tail moved back and forth next to his leg and an ear twitched. Hawke had righted his clothing and was sitting with his legs crossed. His brows were pulled down in concern along with a worried frown, his hands knotted together in his lap.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Anders groaned.

“It’s getting worse,” Hawke said softly. “It’s not just the fur and the tail and the ears. I’ve never seen you act so… indifferent.”

“So what do we do?” said Anders after a moment of shocked silence.

“I was thinking we could get Merrill to take us to her Keeper,” he said cautiously scooting forward. “You wouldn’t have to wear the hat at least on Sundermount.”

“What about the spell book? Didn’t you want to read through that first?”

“I read through it last night after you fell asleep. I didn’t find anything very helpful.”

Anders watched him reach out and tentatively stroke his hair. When he didn’t move or speak Hawke scratched behind his ears. He sighed and let his eyes drift mostly shut.

“Shall we get ready?” Hawke said after a few minutes of petting and scratching.

“Yes,” Anders said reluctantly. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going to the Dalish for help but he didn’t want to look like a half man half cat creature more, no matter how good the petting felt. “Let’s hurry before you put me to sleep again.”

When they were both dressed they went downstairs together to eat breakfast. Cuddles trotted out the door ahead of them. Anders was careful to keep the cloak around him hoping no one would see his tail. He drew stares and some laughed openly at his colorful mismatched outfit. Most of those people he simply ignored or watched them disdainfully as they passed.

Walking through Lowtown was equally annoying. By the time they made it to Merrill’s home in the alienage Anders was eager to be beyond the city limits. He waited impatiently as Hawke knocked on her door, Cuddles panting placidly nearby. While Hawke spoke with the elf Anders wandered looking around curiously. He stopped at her bookshelf and perused the titles.

Anders knew Cuddles had followed him. He absently pushed her muzzle away from him several times before finding an interesting tome. With his attention centered on leafing through pages of text and reading snippets of information, he didn’t notice Cuddles questing nose until Hawke brought his attention to it.

“Cuddles,” Hawke said indignantly. “What _are_ you doing?”

She had managed to hook the cloak on a nearby chair. He felt her nose moving steadily across his rear end, seemingly far too interested in whatever she was sniffing to pay attention. He yelped in surprise when she shoved her muzzle between his legs.

“Cuddles!” Anders exclaimed pushing down on her broad head as he turned, the book he’d been looking at still clutched in one hand.

She whined as Hawke yanked on her collar. Merrill giggled before slapping a hand over her mouth at his glare, his ears flattened against his head in irritation. Anders watched and couldn’t help a stab of jealousy when Hawke shifted into his mabari form. Cuddles whined again and crouched a little before her master. Hawke cocked his head at whatever she was telling him. After a moment Hawke turned to him, nostrils flaring around his legs. Anders endured his snuffling until he too shoved his muzzle between his legs.

“What’s so interesting about my crotch?” Anders hissed shoving on Hawke’s broad head.

“Scent glands,” Hawke said after he’d transformed back into a human. “Cats have scent glands near their… ahem. You’re really starting to smell like Socks.”

“Andraste’s flaming knickers,” he muttered irritably. “Let’s hurry. And no more noses anywhere near my bum.”


	6. Chapter 6

Anders hadn’t been very excited at the detour to the Wounded Coast. Merrill had cheerfully agreed to escort them to the Dalish encampment and Varric had been picked up on the way to Hightown. On their way out of Hightown they’d come across Fenris who had been on his way to find Hawke. Another group of slavers had come after the elf and naturally they needed to be dealt with right away. Hawke had reluctantly agreed.

As soon as the walls of the city were behind them Anders had gladly removed the ridiculous hat. Fenris opted for staring first, uncontrollable snickering second and finally subtle mocking jabs. After Hawke had calmed Anders, he walked behind everyone else with Cuddles to keep him company. He’d been annoyed to begin with and their adversaries bore the full brunt of his irritation.

He’d gleefully thrown spells at the slavers and any who were shocked enough to stare at his ears soon regretted their decision. With one more person than normal those slavers were taken care of quickly and Hawke continued on to Sundermount. Fenris had unfortunately opted to go with instead of going back to Kirkwall.

When they stopped for lunch Anders stuffed the cloak in his pack which inspired another round of mockery from the elf. He sat apart from the group sullenly picking at the dried fruit and jerky with Cuddles lying nearby. Anders watched Hawke sitting next to Fenris, talking quietly to the elf who was enjoying his misfortune a little too much. After an exasperated sigh from Hawke, he stood and walked purposefully towards Anders. When Hawke sunk down next to him on the fallen log Anders offered him the dried fruit.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Hawke asked in concern as he took the handful of food.

“Tastes funny,” Anders said irritably. “And my sides itch as well as my shoulders.” He picked up the jerky and tore a chunk off much too quickly.

“And it seems your teeth are sharper,” Hawke sighed. “Let me see your eyes.” Anders tore himself away from glaring at Fenris and turned to Hawke. He sighed again and scratched his beard. “They aren’t quite fully vertical but if this slow change continues you’ll probably have cat eyes by tomorrow.”

“Wonderful,” said Anders. “Pretty soon you’ll have the largest house cat ever sitting on your couch licking himself clean and tearing up the furniture.” His tail twitched in annoyance and he resumed glaring at Fenris.

“Anders,” Hawke said sounding hurt. “Why are you being so short with me?”

“Why did you have to bring him along?” Anders turned his glare on Hawke. “It’s bad enough the rest of them are laughing at me but he will never let this drop. Even if we do figure out what’s wrong and fix it.”

“I can’t just order him to go back.”

“He won’t even stop smirking at me.” Anders tore off another chunk of jerky viciously, his ears flattening against his head. “The spell would have worked fine if Aveline hadn’t startled me.”

“I’ve told him that,” Hawke said standing. “And I’ll tell him again to stop. It’s nice to see you’re still you and not just a large housecat.”

Hawke moved around the log behind him and Anders felt him scratching his shoulders. He looked at his lap and sighed. “Can I just take off the top of the robes? It won’t itch quite as bad if it’s not fighting the fabric.”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t,” Hawke said. “Just be prepared for more staring. They haven’t seen the fur.”

“Staring is better than this blighted itching. It’s going to be maddening when it finally starts growing in on my balls.”

“Dear Maker,” said Hawke miserably. “I hope we can fix this before that happens.”

Anders didn’t reply as he stuffed the rest of the jerky into his mouth. He worked the catches on the top of his robes and quickly shrugged out of them. Sighing in relief as he scratched his sides, he heard Hawke’s dismayed noise at how far the fur had advanced. Over the top of his shoulders and from his hipbones almost all the way up to his armpits was now covered in soft white fur.

“Come on love,” Hawke said worriedly. “We really need to keep going.”

Hawke hurried past him to where Fenris, Merrill and Varric were now watching them. Anders rolled up the top of his robes as best he could and tucked a bit under his belt to keep it from annoying him. He stood and shrugged into his pack with his staff attached to it and made his way to the rest of the group. Cuddles stayed beside him.

Fenris opened his mouth but shut it again quickly. Hawke was giving him the look and Anders barely managed to restrain a smug smirk lest that look be turned on him. Merrill and Varric both remained silent, an oddity for the chatty elf and verbose dwarf. They simply turned and started up the path followed soon after by Fenris and Hawke. Anders brought up the rear with Cuddles as he had all morning.

The day was clear and warm with surprisingly few distractions in the form of giant spiders or bandits with a death wish. As they trudged up the base of the mountain Anders thought about this strangely slow transformation. It was almost as if the spell hadn’t been interrupted but decelerated for some reason. He’d watched Hawke numerous times as he shifted into his mabari form and knew it should have been almost instantaneous.

He also knew that to remain in animal form Hawke had to reserve a decent sized chunk of his mana. Curious Anders focused most of his attention on his own reserves and found a portion he couldn’t access. Before he could examine further Cuddles barking brought him back to the path they were still trudging up. Apparently the giant spiders had decided not to take a day off after all and he saw several swarming down the trail ahead of them. He turned as Cuddles snarled beside him and charged off down the trail behind them. More spiders were scuttling up towards them and he drew his staff.

“Behind us!” Anders exclaimed.

“They’re everywhere,” Varric yelled in exasperation. “Get your furry backside up here Blondie!”

Anders backed up after sending a fireball into the writhing mass of legs and pincers Cuddles was charging. Another mabari raced past him, Hawke snarling as he jumped, aiming for a spider that was distracted with Cuddles.

“The elves got the front,” Varric said when he was even with him. “Do your thing in that direction.”

Varric gestured with Bianca to one side and immediately turned to the other. Anders hissed at the spiders coming up on them from that side, his tail straight and stiff and the fur on his back standing on end. Over and over he sent ice, fire and lightning at the arachnids. He heard the familiar sounds from Fenris and Merrill to his right and Varric’s humming between Bianca’s ratcheting bolts behind him. Snarls and growls came steadily from his left as well as the chittering screams of dying spiders all around.

It seemed like hours before the giant spiders finally stopped coming. Anders knew it hadn’t been anywhere near that long but he was tired enough for it to have been hours. His ears drooped and he bent over resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. When he straightened and turned he saw the others gathering.

Cuddles limped up towards them favoring a back paw while Hawke, still in mabari form, walked slowly beside her. Both of them were covered in gore. Varric had slumped to the ground cradling his crossbow. Fenris and Merrill, the former leaning grudgingly on the latter, slowly made their way down the path. Anders sighed and dug in his pack for a lyrium potion, downed it in a few gulps and gagged afterwards.

“Andraste’s flaming knickers,” he swore. “That tasted worse than usual.”

Fenris snorted as Merrill helped him to the ground. She dropped tiredly beside him and set her staff next to her on the ground, also covered in blood and spider innards. “It’s the change,” she said smearing something greenish across her cheek in an attempt to wipe it off. “I don’t imagine cats can stomach lyrium very well.”

“Be thankful I’m not any more of a cat,” Anders replied irritably. “It’s working.” He knelt beside Fenris and arched an eyebrow.

“Do as you must mage,” he said wearily. “At least I know you can heal properly.”

“Any more smart remarks like that elf,” Anders snapped. “And you can just suffer.”

He snorted again and lay back on the ground. Anders’ ears twitched and his tail lashed back and forth. When Fenris remained silent he bent to work. Merrill waved him away as well as Varric and he turned to Hawke and Cuddles. He had shifted back to human form and sat near his dog, a hand resting on her heaving side.

“She got bit by one of the wasp spiders,” Hawke said.

“We’ll have to find a spot to camp then,” Anders said. “You know I can purge the poison but she’ll need rest.”

“I know,” he sighed. “We’ll have to get away from here first. Someone must have disturbed their nest. We can’t risk staying in the immediate area.”

“Make a litter,” said Anders. “She shouldn’t walk.”

Hawke nodded and hauled himself up. Anders turned to Cuddles and stroked her side. She huffed at him and he said softly, “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”


	7. Chapter 7

Anders yawned and snuggled closer to Cuddles. Hawke had insisted on going a couple of hours down the trail where there was a convenient campsite they had used before. After everyone had bathed he had curled up under a tree on a soft patch of grass. Cuddles hadn’t been next to him when he fell asleep but now that she was he enjoyed her warm fuzzy bulk against him.

He stretched lazily after a while and rubbed his cheek along her fur. “Feeling better?” he asked softly.

She woofed and he felt her nose in his hair. Anders heard someone approaching and craned his neck to see. Hawke squatted down near his head, smiling as he scratched behind Anders’ ears. Cuddles got a pat as well.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” he said. “Supper is just about ready.”

“Oh good,” Anders said sitting upright. “I’m starved.”

“Oh dear,” Hawke said unhappily. “Why does it seem to speed up when you sleep?”

The fur had advanced across his stomach and was a mere hand span below his nipples. His upper arms were half covered all the way around them. “I don’t know,” Anders said pulling up his skirts. His legs were still fur free and his arse wasn’t itching so he was fairly certain it hadn’t started down yet.

“Your face is changing shape,” Hawke said lifting his chin.

“Garrett,” Anders said standing up. “I had a thought before we were interrupted by spiders. There’s a portion of my mana that I can’t get to. What if the magic is trying to finish the transformation?”

“Like it’s been impeded somehow?” said Hawke contemplatively. “Dear Maker. I think you’re shrinking too.”

“You’re right,” Anders said looking slightly up at him.

“Hold still, love,” he said. Anders watched as Hawke closed his eyes, hands glowing. After only a few seconds he shook his head and dropped them. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“I don’t hurt anywhere,” said Anders. “It just itches where the fur is growing.”

“I don’t know,” Hawke said worriedly. “I think we should still go talk to Keeper Marithari. Maybe try to keep you awake as much as possible.”

“I don’t like that idea,” Anders said scowling at him. “You realize how much time cats spend sleeping?”

“Yes but it seems to speed this up. What happens if you change fully and can’t change back?”

Anders sighed and leaned against him. “All right.”

“I’m sorry love,” Hawke said miserably.

“We should hurry,” said Anders sullenly. “If I keep shrinking nothing will fit properly. I’d rather be safe at home if I have to run around naked.”

“We’ll keep going as soon as the sun rises,” said Hawke wrapping his arms around him. He kissed Anders’ forehead after a moment and stepped back. “Come on. I think you’ll enjoy supper. We got you a whole rabbit Cuddles.”

She stood and wagged her stubby tail. Hawke smiled but Anders frowned resentfully back. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life as a cat but the thought of staying awake until they were sure that he could change back into a human would seriously test his patience. Anders knew he didn’t have much to begin with.

He followed his obviously upset lover to the fire and sunk down next to it. Anders heard the soft whispers of his companions but ignored them completely. The plate of fish he was given distracted his thoughts momentarily and the happy grin he gave Hawke seemed to improve his mood a little. The night wore on slowly and he volunteered to keep watch since he was supposed to be awake anyway.

Anders sat next to the fire and watched everyone sleep for a while. When that proved too boring he wandered the wilderness surrounding the campsite, marveling at how well he could see away from the fire. It didn’t take very long for him to grow bored of batting at leaves and kicking at the undergrowth. He then entertained himself by trying to catch more fish. After a brief amount of trying, there were four flopping on the bank.

Surprised at his success he gutted and cleaned them. Using the pan that Hawke had earlier, he set a couple over the fire to cook and set the other two aside. He waited impatiently for his late snack to cook, listening to his stomach growl. After quickly devouring the half cooked fish he lay on his stomach and watched Hawke sleep. Anders kicked his feet slowly, his chin in a hand and his tail moving leisurely back and forth.

His chest rose and fell in a slow even rhythm. Hawke rolled to his side and Anders scooted closer, rubbing his cheek along his back. After a moment he did it again wishing he could just curl up in front of him. With a sigh Anders hauled himself to his feet, absently scratching at his chest while he wandered the camp restlessly.

He watched each of his companions sleeping. Fenris was curled into a tight ball with his hand clutched around the hilt of his greatsword. Varric was sprawled close to the fire, his head resting on his pack. Anders found his sparkling golden necklace really fascinating for some reason but managed to restrain himself. Merrill’s sleep wasn’t peaceful. She didn’t thrash or moan but rolled often enough Anders wondered if she would actually be rested in the morning. In his wandering Hawke had rolled away from Cuddles and Anders sat between them. He scratched absently at his chest again and sighed.

“I’m never going to make it all night,” he murmured.

The others had been asleep for hours now and he was getting tired. Anders looked around at his sleeping companions and crawled over to Varric. He gently shook the dwarf and whispered his name until he grumbled and rose up on an elbow.

“What is it?” Varric asked rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“I’m tired,” Anders said after a sudden yawn. “Would you take over?”

“How much longer?”

“Three or four hours,” said Anders.

“Yeah,” he sighed as he sat up. “Go on.”

“Thanks Varric,” Anders said.

He brushed up against the dwarf’s shoulder as he turned and hurried back to where Hawke and Cuddles were. Anders squeezed in between them and fell asleep almost immediately. It was still mostly dark when Hawke shook him awake.

“Garrett,” he moaned. “Sleeping.”

“Please wake up,” said Hawke sounding alarmed. “I can almost see the fur growing, Anders.”

“Take me home,” Anders said as he reluctantly opened his eyes.

“It’s just a little further love,” Hawke pleaded.

“No,” he said rolling away. “Tired. Want to sleep on the bed…or your lap…”

“Anders…”

There was more shaking but he was already sinking back into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think there's going to be anymore smut until Anders is back to normal. Sorry, I tried. =/


	8. Chapter 8

Anders yawned and stretched, arching his back with his jaws as wide as they would go. He snuggled closer to the warm furry body in front of him and felt scratching behind his ears. The scratching became stroking along his side all the way down past his hip. He began purring, running his cheek along Cuddles’ flank. It took him a moment to realize the proportions were all wrong.

“Hawke!” he exclaimed sitting upright.

“You’ve shrunk quite a bit,” Hawke said softly.

He turned quickly and had to look up to see his face. Hawke was frowning worriedly, his hand reaching for Anders’ cheek. What had once fit comfortably along his jaw now looked big enough to cover his whole face. A large finger brushed carefully along his cheek bone. Hawke sighed and dropped his hand to his lap.

“I tried to wake you,” Hawke said in despair. “You muttered something about going home then you just wouldn’t respond at all. I watched… you were shimmering and changing. I could almost see it happening…”

“Hawke,” Anders said climbing onto his lap, bracing himself with his tiny hands on Hawke’s shoulders. Kneeling on his thighs the top of Anders’ head reached the bottom of his nose. “I feel fine. I think it’s just the spell.”

“You’re so… small,” he said miserably.

“Believe me,” Anders said with a nervous chuckle. “I noticed.” He took a deep calming breath and smiled. “Cats are smaller than humans.”

“I know love,” Hawke said still frowning. “Besides the fur, ears, tail and eyes you still look more human. A really small human. It’s… a little disturbing.”

“You should be on my end,” said Anders leaning forward to rest his head on Hawke’s shoulder. “Am I completely naked?”

“Sort of,” Hawke said softly stoking down his back. “Your fur covers… almost everything. I sent Merrill and Varric ahead.”

“Good thing it’s just us then,” Anders murmured nuzzling into Hawke’s neck and arching his back into his hand.

“Not… quite.”

Anders stopped moving but Hawke continued to pet him, slowly from his neck to the small of his back. As he thought of who Hawke had mentioned he realized a certain broody elf had not been mentioned. He pushed away from Hawke’s chest and scowled up at him, his tail lashing quickly back and forth.

“He wouldn’t go,” said Hawke disconsolately. “He said it was too dangerous for me to be alone out here.”

“You’re not alone,” he growled irritably.

“I know. I’d be perfectly fine with just you and Cuddles. We just need to move further away from the spiders.”

Anders sat on his feet and continued to scowl up at Hawke. His ears twitched and he crossed his arms over his chest. Hawke’s frown deepened and his brows knitted together in worry.

“Love,” Hawke said softly. “Please don’t be cross with me.”

“You should have insisted,” Anders said petulantly. “He’s enjoying my misery too much as it is.”

“I’m sorry Anders. I tried. I really did.”

He huffed and slumped, his scowl turning to a pout. Cuddles nudged his side gently with her nose and woofed briefly. Anders sighed, thinking her head looked enormous, and patted the top of it. “So where is Fenris?” he asked resigned to deal with the irritating elf a little longer.

“Looking for a better place to camp,” Hawke said. He tentatively reached for Anders’ furry stomach. “We’re too close to the spider nest.”

When he met with no resistance Hawke grew a little bolder and scratched lightly. Anders straightened a little, knowing full well his lover was trying to get out of trouble with bribery. It was difficult staying mad at Hawke under normal circumstances. It didn’t take Anders long to stop resisting entirely.

“That’s not fair,” he said reproachfully even as he turned so that Hawke had a better angle.

Hawke kissed the top of his head and Anders settled on his lap leaning against his chest. Sitting in the bowl of Hawke’s crossed legs Anders’ head only reached the middle of his chest. His legs didn’t reach the ground and he sighed heavily despite the pleasant scratching on his tummy.

“I hope it’s not too far away,” Anders said after a few minutes.

“It might be,” Hawke said still running his fingers up and down Anders’ stomach and chest. “You’ve been asleep most of the morning and he left quite a while ago.”

“It’s not going to be easy for me to walk a large distance,” said Anders craning around to look up at Hawke. “Short legs and no shoes. Cuddles is probably taller than I am at the moment.”

“I could carry you,” Hawke suggested. “You might fit nicely on my shoulders.”

“I would prefer not,” Anders said with a grimace. “I feel like a child as it is.”

“You really don’t look like a child,” said Hawke. “Cat features aside of course, you look more like a man that’s been shrunk.”

“That’s… not very comforting,” said Anders frowning.

Cuddles barked a few times and crawled forward on her belly.

“What’s wrong Cuddles?” Hawke asked in concern.

She crawled forward a little more. Anders crossed his legs on Hawke’s lap so he wouldn’t kick her sides. Cuddles craned her head around and barked again.

“Hawke,” Anders said. “What is she doing?”

“I’m not sure. Normally she only crawls like that when she’s in trouble.”

Cuddles barked again and stood. She circled them a couple of times and lay facing them. Anders brought his knees up to his chest when she tried to get her nose under them.

“Maybe you should talk to her,” said Anders crawling off of his lap.

“I think you’re right,” Hawke said.

He stood and took a few steps away. Anders couldn’t help the small stab of jealousy he felt again at watching how quickly he shimmered and transformed. Anders stood next to Cuddles, his head barely over her shoulder when she stood. Her stubby tail wagged rapidly back and forth as she barked again. Hawke huffed in response and after another moment barked once. His big head swung Anders’ way, nostrils flaring and dipping lower.

“Hawke,” Anders said warningly while he scowled.

There were a few more snuffles before Hawke stepped back and shifted. He smiled sheepishly and knelt in front of Anders. “I’m sorry. You just… smell really interesting.”

“Good interesting or bad interesting?” Anders asked feeling slightly confused.

Cuddles huffed and nudged Hawke’s hand with her muzzle.

“Oh yes,” Hawke said scratching her head. “Cuddles is willing to carry you. She said you’ve done it before.”

Anders frowned at how he conveniently didn’t answer the question. He decided to let it go for now but was definitely going to ask later. “How? I’m too big for Cuddles to carry me.”

She huffed and sniffed at his ears.

“Oh that’s right!” said Anders smiling. “When the mirror turned me into a cat. When we went to see Varric she carried me there on her back.” He rubbed his cheek along her shoulder and smiled. “At least I won’t claw you this time.”

Cuddles barked once and wagged her tail.

“Let’s have some lunch while we wait for Fenris,” Hawke said sort of cheerfully.

Hawke sat and dug in his pack. Anders took a moment to look himself over. His arms were completely covered to his wrists. The fur had begun spreading to the back of his hand but his palms were clear. The outside of his legs were covered in white fur. Patches were growing across the top of his thighs and the back, leaving most of his lower legs uncovered. Most of his arse was covered as well but it hadn’t spread to his balls or his penis, which wasn’t as big as it should have been. He also noticed that his legs weren’t quite as long as they should be.

Anders sat down on his silky skirts, now big enough to be a blanket, wondering how much longer it would take for him to change completely.


	9. Chapter 9

For the first half hour or so of sitting astride Cuddles’ broad back Anders had a death grip on her collar. Gradually he had relaxed the longer nothing had happened. She plodded along beside Hawke and soon Anders was rolling easily along with her movements bored out of his mind. Hawke and Fenris were both busy watching for bandits or more spiders.

Anders wouldn’t have minded having a little of Hawke’s attention but Fenris’ inattention was a blessing. Apparently he hadn’t finished shrinking before the elf left. The snickering might have been tolerable without Fenris looming over him and smirking. Thankfully he didn’t seem to care about Anders’ state of dress, or lack thereof, as it hadn’t been mentioned once.

Left to occupy himself Anders spent more time examining himself while he scratched at the growing fur on his legs and face. There was a small amount of skin between his fingers at the base. After carefully getting a foot up on Cuddles’ back he saw the same between his toes. The idea of waking up next with paws instead of hands was a little worrisome. His chest and back were covered completely with white fur. His nipples seemed to be either gone or lost in the fur. Considering his smaller cock Anders thought they were more than likely gone.

When watching trees go by didn’t provide adequate distraction Anders began licking the fur on his forearms. He slowly worked his way up and around, cleaning what he could reach of the underside and shoulder. Cuddles’ continued her placid plodding and Anders worked on his other arm. He could hear Hawke and Fenris but mostly ignored them. Satisfied with his arms Anders licked the back of one hand and rubbed the fur on his face, noticing for the first time the short whiskers that had grown in at some point.

He noticed that Cuddles had stopped moving before trying to figure out how to clean his legs. The site Fenris had chosen was a good distance away from the main trail. There were no convenient caves around but it was sheltered nicely by bushes and trees on one side and the stream on the other. While Hawke and Fenris gathered firewood Cuddles helped Anders collect rocks for a fire ring. With that done he dug in the pack and pulled out his robes.

Anders spread them out on the ground as best as he could. Cuddles lay nearby as he sat on the silk and arranged it into a comfortable sort of nest. He decided to lie down and to finish what he could of his bath. Anders absently scratched his balls while leaning over, folded nearly in half to lick the black fur on the outside of his calves. Slowly working his way up, intent on his task, he didn’t notice how much more flexible he was. He also didn’t notice when he gained an audience.

“Goodness,” Hawke said in a small voice.

Pausing in mid-lick, twisted around and folded to clean the fur on his arse, Anders looked up at both Hawke and Fenris. Hawke was wide-eyed but it seemed more curious and worried. Fenris on the other hand looked like he’d rather be just about anywhere else. Anders took a brief moment to smirk smugly up at the horrified elf and continued to lick the fur on his arse.

“How are you doing that?” said Hawke kneeling to deposit his firewood onto the pile.

“I’m flexible?” he said questioningly. Anders gave his arse a few more licks and straightened a little, satisfied. “I needed a wash.”

“It’s disturbing,” Fenris growled.

“Good thing my balls aren’t covered yet then,” Anders said impishly. “I’m pretty sure I could get to them.” He caught his tail and gave it a couple of licks.

Fenris made a disgusted noise and dropped his arm full of wood. He turned on his heel and stalked back out into the forest. Anders snickered before continuing to clean his tail. Hawke merely sighed and neatly piled the dropped wood.

“Why didn’t you just bathe in the stream?” Hawke asked curiously.

Anders paused at the end of his tail and arched an eyebrow at him. Hawke sighed again.

“I might have to,” said Anders frowning as he sat up straight. I can’t get to my chest or back.” He shuddered at the idea of being submerged.

“I’m going to gather more wood,” said Hawke standing. “Stay with Anders Cuddles.”

She barked once but remained where she lay. Anders watched his lover disappear back into the forest and decided that he wasn’t going into the water unless it was to catch another yummy fish. He licked the back of his hand and ran it along the fur he couldn’t reach directly, absently scratching at his balls all the while. He wasn’t satisfied with his bath when the itching finally commanded his full attention.

The next time they returned Anders was sprawled on his back, legs spread with his tail between them. Both of his hands were busy carefully scratching his increasingly itchy testicles. He ignored Fenris’ sniggering and kept at it, hoping it wouldn’t take long for the fine layer of short white fur to grow on the smooth skin.

“Why couldn’t this have grown in while I was asleep?” he sighed in exasperation. “I would have rather dealt with scratching my ass.”

“That wouldn’t be half as amusing,” Fenris said kneeling on the other side of the fire ring.

Anders glared for a moment and rolled to his side, away from Fenris. He continued surreptitiously scratching and listening to what his companions were doing. Before he realized Anders was napping peacefully. A fire crackled behind him when he woke. Besides the stars overhead it was the only light. He stretched lazily and yawned, mouth stretching wide. He didn’t feel very rested and rolled onto his back.

The first thing he noticed was that his limbs didn’t seem to be doing what he wanted them to. The second thing he noticed was the garbled sounds that came from his mouth when he tried to speak. Hawke stirred restlessly nearby but didn’t wake. Anders looked around and saw Fenris also asleep across the fire. Cuddles was awake however, lying close to him and watching intently. He thought she might be trying to communicate but that was also mixed up gibberish to him. Shaking his head he rolled to his other side facing the fire.

Cuddles huffed and rested her large head on a paw, still watching him. Anders looked down at his body and discovered that his shoulders and hips seemed to be in the process of shifting, turning from a two legged creature to a four legged one. It didn’t appear to be complete however. He still felt no pain but he doubted his legs would be of much use until this shift finished. They extended at an angle, not straight like a human but not perpendicular like a cat either.

Why did I wake, he thought. Hawke said he couldn’t wake me last time.

His stomach growled loudly and he realized that he was famished. He’d fallen asleep before supper and the night was half gone. Cuddles raised her head again as Anders tried to stand. She woofed softly and stood watching intently as he balanced awkwardly on his knees and his arms. He began trying to walk on his hands towards a nearby pack, dragging his legs. Cuddles woofed again and moved in front of him. She pushed him gently back onto his side in the silk nest he’d been sleeping in with her muzzle. Anders glared up at her and his stomach rumbled again.

“Cuddles,” Hawke said sleepily.

She whined briefly, looking over at him but didn’t move.

“What is…” said Hawke thickly. “Oh dear. Anders.”

He looked up and saw Hawke over him, looking especially worried. Trying to speak only produced the same mangled sounds as before.

“Has something gone wrong?” he said reaching out hesitantly. “Are you in pain?”

Anders hoped all he needed was a good meal to finish out this transformation but he couldn’t communicate with either Hawke or Cuddles. He reached up to grab Hawke’s hand and discovered that he no longer had thumbs. His hands were more like paws now. Just then his stomach let out another loud gurgle and Hawke’s face brightened a little.

“You must be starving,” Hawke said pulling his pack closer. “You haven’t had anything since lunch.”

He dug through the pack and came out with couple of pieces of jerky. Anders rolled a little and devoured both pieces. Hawke stroked his back murmuring worriedly. When he was finished sleepiness rolled over him. He pulled himself over enough so that he was half in Hawke’s lap and fell asleep, listening to his lover and feeling his hand along his back.


	10. Chapter 10

When Anders woke next he found two Mabari watching him. He scrambled up and back a few inches before he realized they were familiar. Anders flopped back down on his side, looking at them and mewed in irritation. Cuddles barked once and Hawke crawled forward.

While he was happy his voice had settled on cat he was unhappy that his brain was apparently still too human to understand them. Both of them huffed and rested their heads on the ground between their paws. Anders stood, very glad that his legs had straightened themselves out, and stood between their heads. He rubbed Hawke’s muzzle with his cheek first then hers.

Hawke rose to his feet and Anders twined between his front legs. He only noticed Hawke’s nose following his tail after Fenris snorted in amusement. The elf was sitting across the cold fire pit, smirking as he watched. Anders calmly sat and did his best to glare. Hawke grumbled and took a few steps away. He shifted and sunk down beside Anders.

“Good morning Fenris,” Hawke said with obviously forced cheer.

His smirk widened for a moment. “Hawke.”

Anders crawled up into Hawke’s lap and flopped to his side. Immediately he felt a hand on his side. He rolled to his back eagerly, forgetting about Fenris completely. Purring as his tummy was rubbed, Anders forgot about everything else as well.

“You seem to be feeling all right,” Hawke said clearly relieved.

He squirmed around, purring happily. Hawke’s fingers rubbed and scratched his furry belly. He’d wanted to feel this again for so long it was easy to forget the last few days. A heavy sigh brought him back however. Hawke continued to rub, though with a bit less enthusiasm.

“It won’t be too much longer,” Hawke sighed. “Maybe one more nap.”

“Will he be able to change back?” Fenris asked.

“I hope so,” he replied softly.

He mewed and turned his head to see Fenris. After all the teasing and their normal distaste for each other, Anders found it difficult to believe he would care one way or the other. Fenris snorted but otherwise remained silent. Too comfortable to be irritated, Anders turned his gaze back to Hawke. He wasn’t very interested in moving but rolled over anyway at his lover’s worried look.

“He’s fine Hawke,” Fenris said softly. He stood and crossed over to their side of the fire pit to grip Hawke’s shoulder briefly. “I’ll be back in a while.”

Hawke nodded and Fenris disappeared. He took a deep breath and stroked along Anders’ back. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Anders rose up on his hind legs, his still hairless paws resting on Hawke’s chest. He mewed and rubbed his cheek along Hawke’s jaw.

“I guess that means yes,” Hawke said with a shaky laugh. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I really hope you’re right, love.”

He meowed and butted Hawke’s chin. Hawke stroked down his back a couple of times and took a deep breath.

“Let’s get you something to eat,” he said in a now steady voice. “Last night…” He stopped speaking abruptly and shuddered. Hawke carefully lifted Anders and set him aside. Watching him bustle around the camp, Anders felt horrible. He couldn’t tell his lover that he was okay, couldn’t reassure him in anyway it seemed. After a dull meal of more jerky, Anders planted himself in Hawke’s lap hoping he could ease his mind a little.

Cuddles had a different idea however. She appeared in front of them and barked. Hawke continued to pet him and shook his head. “Not right now, Cuddles,” he said softly.

She barked again and tugged on his sleeve.

“Cuddles,” Hawke said sounding slightly exasperated. He patted her head and pulled his arm from her grasp. “I’m sorry girl. I don’t feel like playing.”

Anders thought playing sounded like a fantastic idea. He mewed loudly and hopped off of Hawke’s lap, tugging carefully on his other sleeve. Cuddles barked excitedly for a second and took his other sleeve in her mouth.

“I guess I’ve been out voted,” he said with a bemused smile. “All right. Do you want me to change?”

She jumped around and barked excitedly. Her stubby tail moved rapidly back and forth. Hawke shook his head and smiled a little as he stood. Anders couldn’t help the jealousy at, once again, watching his lover shape shift in a few minutes. It didn’t last very long because the second he stopped shimmering Cuddles surged forward. Caught off guard Hawke stumbled but recovered before he fell. Cuddles barked and raced away. Hawke started after her immediately and Anders raced after them.

For a couple of hours they chased each other, played hide and seek together and ended up in a tired pile near the fire pit. Anders was feeling so relaxed and sleepy Hawke sniffing his rear end, yet again, only warranted a brief flick of his tail. He fell asleep snuggled between Hawke’s front feet, head resting on the lower one, as they lay on their sides. Cuddles was curled against Hawke’s back and there they slept.

A crunching noise woke him sometime later. Hawke was still fast asleep and Anders was still tucked in between his legs. He yawned and stretched, flexing his paws as he did. In front of him a short distance away Cuddles lay with a rabbit carcass, chewing happily on the bones. She swallowed and licked her muzzle, turning her head slightly to see him better.

“Please don’t wake Master,” she said.

“I can understand you,” Anders said excitedly.

“You look right,” Cuddles said. “Master didn’t sleep after you woke last night. He was very worried.”

“He watched me the rest of the night?”

“Yes.”

If Anders could have sighed he would have. As it was his tail flicked and his ears twitched. Carefully he crawled away from Hawke, giving his chest an affectionate rub as he did. Anders stretched again, his rear in the air and front legs extended. After stretching his back legs he sat next to Cuddles, who had resumed chewing on the bones between her front legs.

“You seem to be… finished,” Fenris said from across the small fire.

Another rabbit was spitted over it, Fenris turning it slowly as he watched Anders. He mewed softly and wrapped his tail neatly around him. Anders looked over at Hawke, holding the spell even as he slept. Curiosity turned his focus inward, to his mana. The part he couldn’t access before was still unavailable. It was more familiar however, like when he held Panacea during a battle.

“I’m going to try and release the spell,” Anders said to Cuddles.

She didn’t say anything as she looked down at him but he could sense her worry. Anders rubbed his cheek along her shoulder as he stood. He moved a short distance away, aware of his audience but thinking only of how relieved Hawke would be when he woke. Closing his eyes he released the held mana. He felt nothing as his form shimmered and shifted, going through the changing process in reverse. When he opened his eyes he laughed a little in relief.

“Thank the Maker,” Anders said as he ran his hands along bare skin.

His ears were where they should have been. There was no tail sprouting from his backside. His fingers looked as they normally did and the only hair on his body was what he’d had to begin with. Cuddles appeared suddenly in front of him, making him stagger back as she lurched upright. Her big paws dug into his shoulders and she licked his cheeks. Anders laughed again and scratched her head before pushing her off.

“I’m happy too,” he said kneeling in front of her.

Cuddles woofed softly and licked his cheek some more.

“I guess you’re not completely incompetent,” Fenris said smirking at him. Anders glared back and Cuddles huffed. “You may want to find some clothing.”

“Maker’s Breath,” Anders said looking down at his completely naked body. “The only clothing I have has a hole in the ass.”

“So change back,” said Fenris with a shrug. “Maybe it will actually work right this time.”

“I don’t know,” Anders said frowning. “If I have to go through that again I’d rather do it at home where I won’t be disturbed. Maybe Hawke has a spare set…”

Anders went to the packs and sifted through them. Luckily Hawke did have a spare set of robes and he pulled them on along with his sandals. He sat by the fire between Hawke and Cuddles, eager for Hawke to wake.


	11. Chapter 11

A few hours later Anders lay on his stomach, chin propped on his folded arms, watching and waiting for Hawke to wake. The smell of dinner didn’t even rouse him. Cuddles sat next to him watching the surrounding forest. He was considering risking her ire to wake Hawke anyway. Anders was a little bored and slightly worried that he’d slept so long. He was about to scoot forward when Hawke yawned and shifted to his belly.

“About time you woke up,” Anders said irritably. “You didn’t need to watch me all night long you know.”

His head whipped around at the sound of Anders’ voice and he jumped to his feet. Hawke barked excitedly, his entire rear end wagging back and forth in his joy. In a sudden flurry of motion Anders found himself on his back, Hawke’s legs straddling his chest and his thighs, while his face was licked repeatedly. Anders laughed and wrapped his arms around Hawke’s neck.

Cuddles barked and he paused in his excited greeting to look over at her. Hawke barked once and licked his cheek once more before moving a short distance away. Anders stood as he watched Hawke shift and was immediately involved in a bear hug. It quickly turned to a heated kiss. He was content to return it and would have liked to let it go further but Cuddles wouldn’t have been the only member of the audience.

Anders wouldn’t have been uncomfortable at all with Hawke’s mabari watching them have sex. It had happened before and she didn’t seem to mind. Fenris however probably would mind quite a lot. He pushed Hawke away slightly with great reluctance.

“Remember Fenris love,” he whispered.

“Oh dear,” Hawke said sheepishly. His hands moved from Anders’ arse to settle around his waist instead. “I’d quite forgotten. I’m just so happy you’re all right.”

“No more than I am,” Anders said snuggling into his embrace. “We can definitely do that later though.”

“Count on it,” said Hawke after a brief chuckle.

They remained like that for a few moments, until Fenris reminded them of his presence. He cleared his throat loudly and said, “Are we still going to visit the Dalish?”

“Yes,” Hawke said firmly with one arm still wrapped around Anders’ waist. “Merrill and Varric are already there and I’d still like to ask the Keeper if she has any insight.”

Anders sighed and leaned against him. He’d suspected they’d be going on instead of back but he wasn’t that excited about it. Talking to Marethari meant explaining what had happened and while he was glad to be normal again, he really didn’t want to be laughed at more than he already had been. Some of their companions wouldn’t ever let him live this down as it was. Having an entire clan of elves laughing at him as well wasn’t a very thrilling prospect.

“Do we have to?” Anders moaned.

“Merrill’s probably already talked to Keeper Marethari,” Hawke said gently.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” said Anders irritably walking a short distance into the woods behind them.

“She is concerned about you,” said Hawke after a moment. He took Anders’ hand and pulled him further into the woods. “Varric too.”

“I’m all right now though,” Anders said frowning. “Hopefully it won’t happen again and we…”

“See love,” Hawke interrupted. “That’s what I’m worried about now.”

He sighed in frustration as he leaned on a tree. “You’re such a worrier.”

“It’s kept me alive,” said Hawke standing in front of him. “If we know what went wrong in the first place we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I suppose.” Anders shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You’re not going to be cross with me all night are you?” Hawke leaned a little closer.

Anders halted him with a hand on his chest. “That depends.”

“On?”

“One question. You changed the subject when I asked before. What is so interesting about my arse and why couldn’t you keep your nose away from it?”

“Well,” Hawke said nervously. “It’s a very nice arse. I’ve always been rather fond of it.”

“Thank you but I already knew that,” said Anders with a tight smile.

“I just… really like the way you smell.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place?”

“You were so angry about it…”

“Hawke,” Anders said after a laugh. “You shoved your nose between my legs. That might be fine for you dog people but most of us find that annoying.”

“You don’t seem to mind it in bed,” said Hawke sullenly.

“You’re not great big beast in bed,” said Anders caressing his cheek.

“True.” Hawke slipped his arms around Anders’ waist and smiled hopefully. “So am I forgiven?”

“Yes. I’ll try not to get too annoyed at you for sniffing my bottom if I can manage to get the spell right next time.”

“Hopefully we’ll be home by tomorrow night,” Hawke said pulling him closer. One hand strayed to his arse and he continued in a whisper. “Do we have to wait? I really don’t want to wait until we get home.”

“Is Fenris still at camp?” Anders asked between kisses.

“I think so,” said Hawke pulling up the back of his skirts.

“All right,” he murmured. “You’ve talked me into it.”

After a few heated kisses Anders found himself facing the tree. With one hand he held his skirts bunched up around his waist and the other braced against the tree, impaled on Hawke’s slick fingers. He pushed back eagerly. Hawke spent less time than normal preparing him but seated himself slowly. Now that his hands were free Anders felt them against the skin on his chest, under the loose fitting robes.

He kissed Anders’ neck, sucking and biting lightly as he began thrusting. Anders let go of the robes and braced both hands on the tree. For long minutes there was nothing but Hawke and the pleasure he was being given. Anders moaned softly, tilting his head and arching his back. Hawke’s hands were everywhere beneath the robes, rubbing and pinching lightly, stroking his cock then fondling his balls. Hawke panted in his ear, his thrusts speeding and his hands finally settling. Anders groaned, one arm around his waist and the other gripping his cock.

“Garrett,” Anders moaned seconds before he came.

Hawke gasped as Anders clenched around him, both hands moving to his hips as he relaxed. Anders panted as his lover chased his own pleasure. They cleaned up as best as they could and walked slowly back to camp, their hands laced together.

***

Three days later Anders stood in his bedroom, Cuddles guarding the door outside to make sure no one barged in. Hawke sat patiently a few feet away in his mabari form. Anders took a deep breath and began casting the spell. After explaining what had happened, Keeper Marethari had been just as confused as they were. Discussions had provided no clues. The only way to find out if he would have to endure a long change every time was to try again and see what happened.

He had wanted to surprise Hawke before but this time Anders was taking no chances. When they’d gotten home the previous day all of their friends had been informed that the following day both he and Hawke would be unavailable. Bodhan had been instructed to take messages at the door and allow no one in. With Cuddles at the door outside Anders was certain that he wouldn’t be interrupted this time.

When he finished chanting his perspective changed almost immediately. Instead of staring at the wall over Hawke’s head he found himself looking between his legs. Looking down he saw black paws and mewed in excitement.

“It worked!” Hawke exclaimed.

“Thank the Maker,” Anders sighed in relief.

Anders strutted forward and stretched up to rub his head along Hawke’s belly, pausing with his hind quarters directly under the mabari’s nose. He yowled loudly and crouched low, startling Hawke in mid sniff. Hawke jumped away and said worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Anders said watching the door. “If you want to smell my rear you’re going to have to catch me first!”

The door swung open and Anders darted for the opening. Cuddles barked happily and tore off after him down the hall with Hawke on her heels, also barking happily.


End file.
